Fatima, Portugal (1917)
Title: Our Lady of Fatima / Our Lady of the Rosary
Feast Day: May 13th
Investigated: 1919
First Apparition: May 13, 1917
Approved: October 13, 1930 (Dom Jose Alves Correia da Silva, Bishop of the Diocese of Leiria-Fatima)
Last Apparition: October 13, 1917
Visionaries: Lucia dos Santos (9), Jacinta Marto (8), Francisco Marto (7)
Number of Apparitions: 6
Miracles &Signs: Dancing Sun, Healings, Conversion of Russia, Incorruptible body of Jacinta.
Summary: While tending sheep, Lucia de Santos and her two cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, reported six apparitions of Mary, who identified herself as "Our Lady of the Rosary." Mary urged prayer of the rosary, penance for the conversion of sinners and consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart.
Timeline
March 22, 1907
Lucia dos Santos was born on to Antonio and Maria Rosa dos Santos.
1908
Portugal's monarchy is overthrown
June 11, 1908
Francisco Marto was born on to Manuel and Olimpia de Jesus Marto. He was the older brother of Jacinta and the first cousin of Lucia dos Santos.
March 11, 1910
Jacinta Marto was born.
1911-1916
1,700 priests, nuns, and monks were killed by anti-Christian groups and public religious ceremonies were forbidden.
May 5, 1917
Pope Benedict XV sends out pastoral letter to the world asking the faithful to petition Mary "that her most tender and benign solitude may be moved and the peace we ask for be obtained for our agitated world"
May 13, 1917
Date of Eugenio Pacelli's (Pope Pius XII) Episcopal consecration.
May 13, 1917
Three shepherd children, Lucia, Jacinta, & Francisco, see a ball of light near an oak tree and when they approach make out the light to be a beautiful lady. She says she is from Heaven and that she wishes the children to come to the Cova on the 13th of the month for 6 months.
June 13, 1917
Our Lady appears for the second time to the children who came despite their parents' wishes for them to attend the St. Anthony Festival.
July 13, 1917
The parish priest and Lucia's mother think the apparitions are diabolical but she decides to join the others at the Cova with 3,000 onlookers.They are told that a devotion to her Immaculate Heart would bring more souls to salvation. They are given three secrets: a vision of Hell, the consecration of Russia, and a papal assassination. Lucia turned pale and cried out with fear, calling Our Lady by name. There was a thunderclap, and the vision ended.
Aug 13, 1917
The fourth apparition does not occur as planned due to the kidnapping of the children by an anti-Church civil administrator
Aug 19, 1917
The children see Our Lady for the fourth time and she speaks of the need for penance for one's sins and those of the world.
Sept 13, 1917
A crowd of thirty thousand witnesses the sun dim at noon and then a globe of light descending on the oak tree. White roses are seen falling from the sky and the visionaries are reminded of the importance of praying the rosary to end the war. They are told that St. Joseph and the child Jesus will accompany her at the October apparition.
Oct 13, 1917
Our Lady appears to the children for the sixth time. She identified herself as "Our Lady of the Rosary" and the famous dance of the sun took place, witnessed by a crowd of 70,000 people. After the clouds of a rainstorm parted, numerous witnesses—some as far as 40 miles away—reported seeing the sun dance, spin, and send out colored rays of light
Oct 1918
Francisco and Jacinta became seriously ill with the Spanish flu which was part of an epidemic sweeping acorss the globe. It erupted in America and was spread by soldiers being sent to distant lands. This epidemic killed an estimated twenty million people.
Oct 24-25, 1917
The October revolution of Russia resulted in the creation of the Soviet government.
April 4, 1919
Bed-ridden, Francisco requested his first Communion. The following day, Francisco died, April 14, 1919.
1919
Dom Jose Alves Correia da Silva, the Bishop of the Diocese of Leiria-Fatima, appointed a commission to study the case and began the official canonical inquiry.
Feb 20, 1920
Jacinta Marto dies after suffering a long illness. She had been transferred to a Lisbon hospital and operated for an abscess in her chest, but her health did not improve.
Oct 13, 1921
The first Mass at Cova da Iria was celebrated.
Nov 17, 1921
A spring began to flow at the site of the apparitions.
1925
At age 18 Lucia became a postulant at the convent of the Dorothean Sisters at Pontevedra, Spain.
Dec 10, 1925
At Pontevedra, Our Lady gave the young postulant nun the promise of the Five First Saturdays.
Oct 3, 1928
Lucia pronounces her first vows.
Oct 13, 1928
The foundation stone for the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary was laid.
June 13, 1929
At Tuy, where, in the presence of the Holy Trinity, Mary further revealed to Lucia the spirit of this great devotion of reparation. "The moment has come in which God asks the Holy Father to make, in union with all the bishops of the world, the consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by this means." (S. Zimdars-Schwartz, Encountering Mary, 197).
Oct 1, 1930
The Sacred Penitentiary under Pius XI granted a partial indulgence to those who individually visited the Shrine and prayed for the intentions of the Holy Father, and a plenary indulgence once a month to those who went there in a group.
Oct 13, 1930
Announcement of Dom Jose Alves Correia da Silva, Bishop of the Diocese of Leiria (now Leiria-Fatima) on the results of the Investigative Commission, declaring the apparitions "worthy of belief".
May 13, 1931
The Portuguese bishops consecrated their nation to the Immaculate Heart
Aug 1931
Sister Lucia was staying with a friend at Rianjo, Spain to rest and recover while ill. In the chapel there, Our Lord complained to Sister Lucy of the tardiness of the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
1935
Between 1935 and 1941, on the orders of her superiors, Sr. Lucia wrote four memoirs of the Fatima events. In the third of these, she recorded the first two parts of the secret, explaining that there was a third part she was not yet permitted by heaven to reveal. In the Fourth Memoir, she added a sentence to the end of the second part of the secret: "In Portugal, the dogma of the faith will always be preserved, etc." Sr. Lucia also noted that in writing the secret in the Fourth Memoir: "With the exception of that part of the Secret which I am not permitted to reveal at present, I shall say everything. I shall not knowingly omit anything, though I suppose I may forget just a few small details of minor importance." Upon the publication of the Third and Fourth Memoirs, the world became aware of the secret of Fatima and its three parts, including Our Lady’s request that Russia be consecrated (entrusted) to her Immaculate Heart by the pope and the bishops of the world.
Feb 6, 1938
Seven months before the declaration of war, Sister Lucy wrote to her bishop, Msgr. da Silva to tell him that war was imminent, but then spoke of a miraculous promise: "in this horrible war, Portugal would be spared because of the national consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary made by the bishops."
May 13, 1938
The Portuguese bishops had vowed in 1936 that if Our Lady protected Portugal from the Communists, they would express their gratitude by renewing the National Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. True to their word, they renewed the Consecration of Portugal to the Immaculate Heart in thanksgiving for Our Lady’s protection. Cardinal Cerejeira acknowledged publicly: "one cannot fail to recognize that the invisible hand of God has protected Portugal, sparing it the scourge of war and the leprosy of atheistic communism."
1940
Pope Pius XII spoke of Fatima for the first time in an official Papal text, his encyclical Saeculo exeunte, which was written to encourage the Church in Portugal to further its foreign missionary activity. In the text he stated: "Let the faithful not forget, especially when they recite the Rosary, so recommended by the Blessed Virgin Mary of Fatima, to ask the Virgin Mother of God to obtain missionary vocations, with abundant fruits for the greatest possible number of souls. ..."
1940
The Holy Father granted the new diocese of Nampula, in Mozambique, Our Lady of Fatima as its Patroness.
Aug 31, 1941
Lucia reveals first two secrets in her writings in the “Third Memoir” for the Bishop of Leira-Fatima.
Oct 31, 1942
In honor of the 25th Anniversary of the apparitions, Pope Pius XII (1939-1958) solemnly consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. On October 31, 1942, Pius XII consecrated not only Russia but the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The world’s bishops were not involved.
1943
Sister Lucia explained that the Lord told her that He would accept this Act of Consecration to help speed the end of the World War II, but that it will not obtain worldwide peace. As predicted, this act obtained the end of the war, but did not usher in the reign of peace Our Lady promised, as it was not a consecration of specifically Russia, and the world’s bishops did not participate in it. It was then placed in a wax-sealed envelope on which Sr. Lucia wrote that it should not be opened until 1960.
1946
Lucia entered the convent of the Carmelite Sisters of Coimbra under the name of Sister Maria Lucia of the Immaculate Heart.
Sept 1944
In 1943 Bishop da Silva suggested that Sister Lucy write down the text of the Third Secret and issues a formal order the following month at her request. She did not feel at liberty to do so until 1944.
Jan 2, 1944
Sr. Lucia finally writes down the Third Secret after previosuly having claimed to have physically been unable to obey the command due to paralysis of a preternatural cause.
Jan 9, 1944
Sr Lucia wrote to Bishop da Silva to tell him that the Third Secret had been written down and placed in a sealed envelope. Before giving the sealed envelope containing the third part of the “secret” to the then Bishop of Leiria-Fatima, Sister Lucia wrote on the outside envelope that it could be opened only after 1960, either by the Patriarch of Lisbon or the Bishop of Leiria [Bertone, MF, "Conversation with Sr. Maria Lucia"]. According to Sr. Lucia: "I fixed the date because I had the intuition that before 1960 it would not be understood, but that only later would it be understood. Now it can be better understood. I wrote down what I saw; however it was not for me to interpret it, but for the Pope" [ibid.]."
May 4, 1944
The Holy See instituted the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
June 17, 1944
The envelope was delivered to Bishop da Silva, by Sr Lucia's bishop confessor in Tuy. (The five month delay had resulted from Sister Lucia's unwillingness to entrust the envelope to anyone but a bishop.)
May 13, 1946
Cardinal Masella, Papal Legate, crowned Our Lady of Fatima "Queen of the World" on the 300th Anniversary of the consecration of the nation of Portugal to Mary Immaculate. The entire Portuguese episcopate and over 600,000 pilgrims gathered at Fatima for the event.
Oct 13, 1951
Pope’s Legate, Cardinal Tedeschini, was sent to Fatima for the closing of the Holy Year. He told the crowd that Pope Pius XII had himself seen, repeated in Rome, the Miracle of the Sun that had occurred at the last Fatima apparition. The Holy Father had, in fact, been graced to see the Miracle of the Sun on four separate occasions the previous year: October 30 and 31, November 1 , and November 8 .
July 7,1952
Pope Pius XII consecrated Russia and her people to the Immaculate Heart. But he did the Consecration in a private ceremony, without inviting the world’s bishops to join him, as Our Lady requested.
Oct 6, 1953
The Basilica was solemnly consecrated by Cardinal Cerejeira, the Patriarch of Lisbon.
Oct 11, 1954
Pope Pius XII issued an encyclical on the Queenship of Mary, and in it he referred to Her miraculous appearance at Fatima.
1956
The church on the apparition site was elevated to the rank of Basilica.
1957
The secret remained with the bishop of Leiria until 1957, when it was requested (along with photocopies of Sr. Lucia’s other writings) by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. According to Cardinal Bertone the secret was read by both Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI. (see Message of Fatima, "Introduction" )
1964
At the closing ceremonies at the end of the third session of the Second Vatican Council, before all the Catholic bishops of the world, Pope Paul VI renewed Pius XII’s consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He also announced that a special envoy was to be sent to Fatima. In the Pope’s name the Papal Legate would carry, as a symbolic gift, a Golden Rose to the Fatima Shrine. The inscription on it would say that Pope Paul was entrusting the entire Church to the care of Our Lady of Fatima.
May 13, 1965
Pope Paul through his Papal Legate presented the Golden Rose at Fatima, commending the whole Church to Our Lady of Fatima’s care.
May 13, 1967
50th Anniversary of the apparitions, on May 13, 1967, Pope Paul VI went to Fatima on a pilgrimage of prayer and peace. On that occasion, he published an Apostolic Exhortation, Signum Magnum, in which he invited "all members of the Church to consecrate themselves to Mary Immaculate and to put this pious act into concrete action in their daily lives."
May 13, 1981
A young Turk, Mehmet Alì Agca, shoots the Pope John Paul II in the abdomen and hand while he circles St. Peter's Square. "And thus we come to May 13, 1981, when I was wounded by gunshots fired in St. Peter’s Square. At first, I did not pay attention to the fact that the assassination attempt had occurred on the exact anniversary of the day Mary appeared to the three children at Fatima in Portugal and spoke to them the words that now, at the end of this century, seem to be close to their fulfillment" (221). Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/9-things-to-know-and-share-about-fatima/#ixzz2TDAOR58tCrossing the Threshold of Hope (1994)The pope later attributes being saved from the point blank assasination attempt to the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima:"It was a mother’s hand that guided the bullet’s path," he said, "and in his throes the Pope halted at the threshold of death" (Meditation from the Policlinico Gemelli to the Italian Bishops, May 13, 1994).
May 13, 1982
Pope John Paul II offered Mass in Fatima to give thanks for Mary's intercession in saving his life a year earlier. He reminded the faithful that "the message of Fatima is a call to conversion and repentance, the nucleus of the message of the Gospel." He re-consecrated the world to Mary's Immaculate Heart and called all to prayer, especially the Rosary.
May 13, 2000
Pope John Paul II beatified the two deceased seers, Jacinta and Francisco. He has also made the Feast day of Our Lady of Fatima universal by ordering it to be included in the Roman Missal. Francisco, 11, and Jacinta, 10, are the youngest non-martyrs to be beatified in the history of the Church.
June 26, 2000
The third secret of Fatima is revealed by Pope John Paul II with Sr. Lucia in attendance. Commentary by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
Feb 21, 2005
Lucia dos Santos dies at age 97.
2008
Pope Benedict XVI lifted the normal five-year waiting period to begin her canonization process.
May 12, 2010
Benedict XVI's first stop upon arriving by helicopter to Fatima was to the Chapel of Apparitions to pray and to give Our Lady a Golden Rose. The Holy Father also noted that he brought with him a Golden Rose "as a homage of gratitude from the Pope for the marvels that the Almighty has worked through you in the hearts of so many who come as pilgrims to this your maternal home." Source: Zenit.org
The Messages of Fatima
- Messages of an Angel (1916)
- Messages of Our Lady (1917)•
- Additional Visions of Jacinta (1919-1920)
- Additional Visions of Lucia (1925 -1936)
▶ MESSAGES OF AN ANGEL (1916)
Summer of 1916:
The angel appeared again and said, "Pray, Pray a great deal. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary have merciful designs on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices continually to the Most High. Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended, and as a petition for the conversion of sinners. Bring peace to our country in this way ... I am the Guardian Angel of Portugal. Accept and bear with submission all the sufferings the Lord will send you."
Fall of 1916:
The angel appeared to the children and prostrated himself on the ground before a vision of a chalice and host and said, "Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners."
▶ MESSAGES OF OUR LADY (1917)
Sunday, May 13, 1917
Our Lady: "Do not be afraid. I will do you no harm."
Lucia: "Where are you from?"
Our Lady: "I am from Heaven."
Lucia: "What do you want of us?"
Our Lady:
"I came to ask you to come here on the thirteenth day for six months at this same time, and then I will tell you who I am and what I want. And afterwards, I will return here a seventh time."
Lucia: "Will I go to Heaven?"
Our Lady: "Yes, you will."
Lucia: "And Jacinta?"
Our Lady: "She also."
Lucia: "And Francisco? Will he go to Heaven too?"
Our Lady: "Yes, but first he must say many rosaries."
Our Lady: "Would you like to offer yourselves to God to accept all the sufferings which He may send to you in reparation for the countless sins by which He is offended and in supplication for the conversionof sinners?
Lucia: "Yes."
Our Lady: "Then you will have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort."
All Three: "O Most Holy Trinity I adore Thee. My God, my God, I love Thee in the Most Blessed Sacrament."
Wednesday, June 13, 1917
Lucia: "My Lady, what do you want of me?"
Our Lady: "I want you to come on the thirteenth day of next month and to pray the Rosary every day and I want you to learn to read."
Lucia: (Lucia asked for the cure of a sick person.)
Our Lady: "If she is converted, she will be cured within a year."
Lucia: "I want you to take us to Heaven."
Our Lady: "Yes, I will take Francisco and Jacinta soon, but you must remain on earth for some time. Jesus wishes to use you to make me better known and loved. He wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart."
Lucia: "Must I stay here all alone?"
Our Lady: "No, my child, and would that make you suffer? Do not be disheartened. My Immaculate Heart will never abandon you, but will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God."
Saturday, July 13, 1917
Lucia: "What do you want of me?"
Our Lady: "I want you to come on the thirteenth day of next month and to continue to pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war for she alone can help."
Lucia: "I would like to ask who you are and to perform a miracle so that people will believe that you are appearing to us."
Our Lady: "Continue to come here every month. In October I will tell you who I am and what I want. And I will perform a miracle so that everyone may see and believe."
Lucia:(Lucia then submitted petitions and prayer requests for Our Lady to present to God)
Our Lady: ( Our Lady gave some responses to Lucia)
Lucia: "Yes, she wants people to recite the Rosary. People must recite the Rosary."
Our Lady: "Sacrifice yourselves for sinners and say often, especially when you make some sacrifice, 'O my Jesus, this is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.' "
(At this point the children see a terrifying vision of Hell.)
Our Lady: "You saw Hell where the souls of poor sinners go. In order to save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If people do what I ask, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.
"The war is going to end. But if people do not stop offending God, another, even worse one will begin in the reign of Pius XI. When you shall see a night illuminated by an unknown light know that this is the great sign that God gives you that He is going to punish the world for its many crimes by means of war, hunger, and persecution of the Church and the Holy Father. To prevent it, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays.
"If people attend to my requests, Russia will be converted and the world will have peace. If not, she [Russia] will scatter her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, and various nations will be destroyed.
"In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me; it will be converted, and a certain period of peace will be granted to the world. In Portugal the dogmas of the Faith will always be kept"
[At this point Lucia and Jacinta are given the Third Secret that was eventually given to the Pope]. "Do not tell this to anyone. Francisco ... yes, you may tell him" [Lucia and Jacinta both saw and heard Our Lady but Francisco only saw the apparitions].
"When you say the Rosary, say after each mystery: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need."
Lucia: "Do you want anything more of me?"
Our Lady: "No, today I want nothing else of you."
Lucia: "There she goes! There she goes!. Now you can't see her anymore."
Monday, August 13, 1917
The children received no messages on this day because they were detained by the authorities. Crowds who came to be with the children made claims of a soft light and fragrances in the area where Our Lady had appeared previously.
Sunday, August 19, 1917
Our Lady: "Pray, pray a great deal and make many sacrifices for many souls go to Hell because they have no one to make sacrifices and to pray for them."
"St. Joseph too will come with the Holy Child to bring peace to the world. Our Lord will also come to bless the people. Our Lady of the Rosary and Our Lady of Sorrows will come too."
Thursday, September 13, 1917
Lucia: "You must pray!"
"What do you want of me?"
Our Lady:
"Continue to pray the Rosary every day in order to obtain the end of the war. In October Our Lord will come, and Our Lady of Sorrows and of Mount Carmel and St. Joseph with the Child Jesus to bless the world. God is pleased with your sacrifices, but He does not want you to sleep with the rope on; wear it only during the day."
Lucia: "People have begged me to ask you many things. The cure of some sick persons, of a deaf mute ..."
Our Lady: "Some I will cure, others not. In October I shall perform a miracle so that everyone may believe."
Lucia: "If you wish to see her look in that direction."
Saturday, October 13, 1917
Lucia: "Put down your umbrellas everyone!"
"Kneel down. Our Lady is coming! I have seen the flash!"
"What do you want of me?"
Our Lady: "I am the Lady of the Rosary, I have come to warn the faithful to amend their lives and ask for pardon for their sins. They must not offend Our Lord any more, for He is already too grievously offended by the sins of men. People must say the Rosary. Let them continue saying it everyday."
"I would like a chapel built here in my honor."
"The war will end soon."
Lucia: "Look at the sun!"
[ The rain had stopped and the black clouds parted and the sun began to whirl in the sky, scattering rays of multicolored light and lighting up the entire countryside. The sun whirled for three minutes, stopped and, then, resumed again a second and third time lasting a total of twelve minutes. The sun spun faster each time and at the end seemed to tear itself from the sky and began plunging to earth. The crowd was on their knees, terrified, asking pardon for their sins fearing that the end of the world was at hand. At the last moment the sun halted its descent and returned to its normal position. The miracle ended with the rain soaked earth and people's clothes now being completely dry. There were many reported healings. The miracle was seen over a 600 square mile area. The Portugal newspaper reporters gave long and detailed accounts but newspapers in most other countries ignored the story. As the crowd was witnessing the miracle of the sun, the children saw visions of the Holy Family, Jesus, Joseph and Mary. They also saw Our Lord carrying His cross with His Mother, Our Lady of Sorrows. Lucia also saw Our Lady of Mount Carmel who signifies the triumph over suffering.]
▶ ADDITIONAL VISIONS OF JACINTA (1919-1920)
Our Lady: "The sins of the world are very great ... If men only knew what eternity is, they would do everything in their power to change their lives." "You must pray much for sinners and priests and religious."
"Priests must be pure, very pure. They should not busy themselves with anything except what concerns the Church and souls. The disobedience of priests and religious to their superiors and to the Holy Father gravely displeases Our Lord."
"Fly from riches and luxury; love poverty and silence; have charity, even for bad people."
"More souls go to Hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason."
"Certain fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much."
"The Mother of God wants more virgin souls bound by the vow of chastity."
"Woe to women wanting in modesty."
"Confession is a sacrament of mercy and we must confess with joy and trust."
"Many marriages are not of God and do not please Our Lord."
"Let men avoid greed, lies, envy, blasphemy, impurity."
"Never speak ill of anyone. Never complain or murmur. Be very patient, for patience leads us to Heaven."
"Our Lady can no longer uphold the arm of her Divine Son which will strike the world. If people amend their lives, Our Lord will even now save the world, but if they do not, punishment will come."
"If the government of a country leaves the Church in peace and gives liberty to our Holy Religion, it will be blessed by God."
"Tell everybody that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask graces from her, and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Ask them to plead for peace from the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Lord has confided the peace of the world to her."
▶ ADDITIONAL VISIONS OF LUCIA
December 10, 1925
Christ Child: "Have compassion on the heart of your Most Holy Mother, covered with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to make an act of reparation to remove them."
Our Lady: "Look my daughter, at my Heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console me and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me."
Christ Child: "And have you spread through the world what our heavenly Mother requested of you?
Lucia: "My Jesus, You know very well what my confessor said to me in the letter I read to You. He told me that it was necessary for this vision to be repeated, for further happenings to prove its credibility, and he added that Mother Superior, on her own, could do nothing to propagate this devotion."
Christ Child: "It is true that your Superior alone can do nothing, but with My grace she can do all. It is enough that your confessor gives you permission and that your Superior speak of it, for it to be believed, even without people knowing to whom it has been revealed."
Lucia: "But my confessor said in the letter that this devotion is not lacking in the world, because there are many souls who receive You on the First Saturdays, in honor of Our Lady and of the fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary."
Christ Child: "It is true My daughter, that many souls begin the First Saturdays, but few finish them, and those who do complete them do so in order to receive the graces that are promised thereby. It would please Me more if they did Five with fervor and with the intention of making reparation to the Heart of your heavenly Mother, than if they did Fifteen, in a tepid and indifferent manner...."
[ Lucia placed before Jesus the difficulty that some people had about confessing on Saturdays, and asked that if it might be valid to go to confession within eight days.]
"Yes, and it could be longer still, provided that, when they receive Me, they are in the state of grace and have the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary."
Lucia: "My Jesus, what about those who forget to make this intention?"
Christ Child: "They can do so at their next confession, taking advantage of the first opportunity to go to confession."
December 17, 1927
Jesus: "My daughter, write what they... [her spiritual director] ... ask of you. Write also all that the most holy Virgin revealed to you in the Apparition in which she spoke of this devo tion. As for the remainder of the Secret, continue to keep silence."
June 13, 1929
I had requested and obtained permission from my superiors and my confessor to make a holy hour from 11:00 p.m. to midnight, from Thursday to Friday of each week.
Finding myself alone one night, I knelt down near the Communion rail, in the middle of the chapel, to recite the prayers of the Angel, lying prostrate ... Feeling tired, I got up and continued to recite them with my arms in the form of a cross. The only light was that of the [sanctuary] lamp.
Suddenly, the whole chapel lit up with a supernatural light and on the altar appeared a cross of light which reached the ceiling. In a clearer light, on the upper part of the cross, could be seen the face of a man with His body to the waist, on His chest a dove, equally luminous; and nailed to the cross, the body of another man. A little below the waist [of Christ on the cross], suspended in the air, could be seen a Chalice and a large Host, onto which some drops of Blood were falling, which flowed from the face of the Crucified One and from the wound in His breast. Running down over the Host, these drops fell into the Chalice.
Under the right arm of the cross was Our Lady with Her Immaculate Heart in Her hand ... (She appeared as Our Lady of Fatima, with Her Immaculate Heart in Her left hand, without sword or roses, but with a crown of thorns and flames) under the left arm [of the cross], in large letters, like crystalline water which flowed over the altar, forming these words: "Grace and Mercy". I understood that the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity was shown to me, and I received lights about this mystery which I am not permitted to reveal.
Our Lady: "The moment has come in which God asks the Holy Father, in union with all the bishops of the world, to make the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by this means. There are so many souls whom the Justice of God condemns for sins committed against me, that I have come to ask reparation: sacrifice yourself for this intention and pray."
Jesus: "They did not wish to heed My request. Like the King of France, they will regret it and then do it, but it will be late. Russia will already have spread her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions against the Church. The Holy Father will have much to suffer."
1933
Our Lord communicated to Lucia that He was displeased that His requests had not been attended to.
Undated but prior to May 18, 1936
Lucia: "Why would you not convert Russia without the Holy Father making the consecration?"
Jesus: "Because I want My whole Church to acknowledge that consecration as a triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary so that it may extend its cult later on and put the devotion of the Immaculate Heart besides the devotion to My Sacred Heart."
Lucia: "But my God, the Holy Father probably will not believe me unless You Yourself move him with a special inspiration."
Jesus: "The Holy Father, pray much for the Holy Father. He will do it, but it will be late. Nevertheless, the Immaculate Heart of Mary will save Russia. It has been entrusted to her."
Church Approval
On October 13, 1930, Dom Jose Alves Correia da Silva, Bishop of the Diocese of Leiria-Fatima announced the results of the Investigative Commission, declaring the apparitions "worthy of belief". Every Pope since the apparitions has expressed approval of the supernatural character and stressed the importance of the messages of Fatima.
On May 13, 2000, Pope John Paul II beatified the two deceased seers, Jacinta and Francisco. He has also made the Feast day of Our Lady of Fatima universal by ordering it to be included in the Roman Missal. In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the normal five-year waiting period to begin the canonization process of Sr. Lucia dos Santos.
In Crossing the Threshold of Hope, Pope John Paul II expressed his belief in Fatima this way: "And what are we to say of the three children from Fatima? …They could not have invented these predictions. They did not know enough about history or geography, much less about social movements and ideological developments. And nevertheless it happened just as they said."
The Feast of Our Lady of Fatima is May 13th.
Statue
The Statue venerated in Little Chapel of Apparitions, heart of the Shrine of Fatima, was donated to the Shrine in 1920 by Mr. Gilberto Fernandes dos Santos. It was made by sculptor José Ferreira Thedim, of cedar from Brazil and it is 1.10m high.
It was blessed at the Parish Church of Fatima (4km distant from the Shrine and where the Little Shepherds of Fatima were baptized) on May 13, 1920, enthroned in Little Chapel of Apparitions on June 13, 1920, and crowned by Pontifical Legate Cardinal Masela on May 13, 1946.
The crown worn by the statue during the great celebrations is a single copy executed in Lisbon, free of charge, by 12 artists, who worked on it for three months. It weighs 1200 grams and it is decorated with 313 pearls and 2679 precious stones. It was donated to the Shrine by a group of Portuguese women on October 13, 1942, in thanksgiving to God for the fact that Portugal didn’t take part in World War II. The bullet donated by John Paul II is encrusted in it.
The former Supreme Pontiff donated the bullet that pierced his body during the attempt on his life in Rome, on May 13, 1981, as a sign of gratitude to the Virgin Mary for having saved his life.
Basilica
Begun in 1928 and consecrated on October 7, 1953, its 15 altars are dedicated to the 15 mysteries of the Rosary.
The painting above the high altar depicts the Message of Our Lady to the little shepherds, prepared by the Angel of Portugal, through their encounter with Christ in the Eucharist. The Bishop of the diocese is shown kneeling on the left side, and the figures of Pope Pius XII (who consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1942, and whose Legate crowned the Statue of Our Lady in 1946), of Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI.
Scenes of the apparitions are represented in stained glass, as well as invocations from the Litany of Our Lady.
In the four corners of the Basilica interior are placed the statues of the great apostles of the Rosary and of devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary: St. Anthony Claret, St. Dominic of Gusman, St. John Eudes and St. Stephen, King of Hungary.
The tombs of Francisco and Jacinta are in the Basilica, and, in the chancel, are the mortal remains of D. José Alves Correia da Silva, first Bishop of Leiria after its restoration in 1920.
The monumental organ, mounted in 1952, has about 12 thousand pipes.
Prayers
Prayer to Our Lady of Fatima
Dearest Mother, Queen of the Holy Rosary, who came to Fatima to reveal to all mankind the Divine plan for true Christian peace, of prayer, penance, and consecration, grant an abundance of grace, strength, and guidance to the members of Thy Fatima Crusade, here present and throughout the world. Inspire us to great zeal, oh great Mediatrix of All Graces, that we may be effective instruments in spreading devotion to Thy Rosary; that we may be faithful in wearing Thy scapular; that we may inspire our brothers in Christ to a life of sacrifice, penance, and modesty, and finally, that we may help to bring about that wonderful day when all men, through consecration to Thy Immaculate Heart, shall be one in Christ. Amen.
Hymn to Our Lady of Fatima
Dear Lady of Fatima,
We come on bended knee,
To beg Your intercession,
For peace and unity.
Dear Mary, won't You show us,
The right and shining way,
We pledge our love and offer You,
A Rosary each day.
You promised at Fatima,
Each time that You appeared,
To help us if we pray to You,
To banish war and fear.
Dear Lady, on First Saturdays,
We ask Your guiding hand,
For grace and guidance here on earth,
And protection for our land.
Prayer to Our Lady of Fatima
O Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of the most holy Rosary, you were pleased to appear to the children of Fatima and reveal a glorious message. We implore you, inspire in our hearts a fervent love for the recitation of the Rosary. By meditating on the mysteries of the redemption that are recalled therein may we obtain the graces and virtues that we ask, through the merits of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Redeemer.
Prayer of the Holy Father to Our Lady of Fatima
By Pope Benedict XVI (Visit to Portugal 2010)
Our Lady,
Mother of all men and women,
I come before you as a son
visiting his Mother,
and I do so in company
with a multitude of brothers and sisters.
As the Successor of Peter,
to whom was entrusted the mission
of presiding in the service
of charity in the Church of Christ
and of confirming all in faith and in hope,
I wish to present to your
Immaculate Heart
the joys and hopes
as well as the problems and sufferings
of each one of these sons and daughters of yours
who are gathered in the Cova di Iria
or who are praying with us from afar.
Mother most gentle,
you know each one by name,
you know each one’s face and personal history,
and you love them all
with maternal benevolence
that wells up from the very heart of Divine Love.
I entrust and consecrate them all to you,
Mary Most Holy,
Mother of God and our Mother.
Devotions
In September 1939 Lucia's bishop issued a Pastoral Letter urging the devotion of the 'First Saturdays'. In itself this was of little significance as the Church had promoted the devotion since June 13th 1912. But when he laid down the form that it should take, he said that Mary had revealed the devotion.
'This devotion was revealed to Sister Lucia of Jesus by the most holy Virgin in these words:
"See my daughter, how my Heart is encircled by thorns with which ungrateful men pierce Me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Do you, at least, strive to console Me; and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death with graces necessary for salvation all those who, in order to make reparation to Me, on the first Saturday of five successive months, go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the Rosary, and keep Me company for a quarter of an hour, meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary."
Imprimatur: Santuario da Fatima,
21 of September, 1939.
+Jose, Bishop of Leiria.
((FR 188-189)).
SOURCE: MiracleHunter.com